So much went down on the Feb. 18 episode of ‘Scandal.’ Mellie and Olivia bonded, someone new grabbed Fitz’s attention and Cyrus set his sights on the White House — again.

It’s election season on Scandal, and it’s full of surprises. On the Feb. 18 episode of Scandal, a new woman came into Fitz’s life, Mellie got some competition, Cyrus decided to move on, and Mellie and Olivia had a heart-to-heart over hooch. It was amazing.

Olivia had read the first half of Mellie’s book, and she had some major critiques. It was time to pull back the mask, and let people know the real Mellie. There was one specific chapter Olivia wanted from Mells — why she stayed with Fitz when she knew he’d cheated. Mellie wasn’t expecting Olivia to get so up close and personal. “You asked for Olivia Pope, you got Olivia Pope,” the queen said. This led to some major stress eating on Mellie’s party.

Why? She was being stubborn. Mellie clearly didn’t want to face the truth about why she stayed. Olivia had her figured out, though. Mellie had no idea why she stayed. The former First Lady had a quick retaliation to that. “Well, do you know why you left?” Mellie growled. Yep, Olivia and Mellie were in the same boat.

Later, Mellie started to open up to Olivia, but just a smidge. “I was devastated when I found out Fitz was having an affair with you,” Mellie said. She thought it was just a phase. When Olivia continued to press, Mellie lost it. Mellie claimed that she and Fitz had a “real relationship” built on 23 years of marriage. Mellie threw some sharp barbs at Olivia, like she was just a “blip” and a “play thing” for Fitz. OUCH.

Lighting A Fire

The next election was getting underway, and Fitz was trying to establish his legacy. Lillian Forrester wanted to do a big profile on Fitz. Abby was so down for this, Cyrus not so much. Before they went through with it, Cyrus and Abby wanted to set some guidelines with Lillian like focusing on Fitz’s “year of achievement.” When Fitz and Lillian met, I immediately saw a look in her eye that I didn’t like. She’s getting her hooks in, and Mellie and Olivia are nowhere around to help Fitz.

Cyrus went to Fitz in the Oval to have one last “come to Jesus” meeting. Fitz’s presidency wasn’t over. They could still light a fire and make a difference. He tried to convince Fitz not to take a backseat in these last few months. Despite his motivating speech, it didn’t work on Fitz. He was lost. The look on Cyrus’ face was pure devastation. Everything he had worked for was being just tossed aside. Fitz was done.

Meanwhile, Mellie wasn’t the only one who had her eye on the Oval. Elizabeth wanted in, and she knew Susan was her ticket. Susan’s poll numbers were good. Really good. But she didn’t want to run. That’s where David came in. Elizabeth needed David to convince Susan to run. Since he was so obsessed with Liz, David went for it. He asked her out and took her to Gettysburger.

After an epic burger and fries, they got to talking. David told her that she would make an amazing president. Well, Susan didn’t see it that way. She knew her place in Washington. She believed she wouldn’t stand against Mellie in a debate, primary or election. That’s when David kissed her and let her know that she could very well win the next election. Watch out, Mellie.

Even after what went down last week, Jake showed up at Olivia’s. She just let him in, too! She walked towards her room and took off her robe. What the hell is going on? After their latest tryst, Olivia stressed it wouldn’t happen again. “Yes, it is,” Jake said. He knew he was right. Then he just left!

‘It Was Working’

Mellie went to drown her sorrows in a bar. Cyrus showed up and sort of offered to help with her campaign. Mellie didn’t need Cyrus’ help, and she unknowingly gave Cyrus the spark that would change everything. “We made him. We made Fitzgerald Grant III. We made a president,” Mellie said. “We?” Cyrus asked repeatedly before leaving.

Mellie’s drinking didn’t stop at the bar. She showed up at Olivia’s and brought the hooch. She was ready to answer Olivia’s question as to why she stayed with Fitz. “It was working,” Mellie said. Before Olivia showed up, Mellie was lost. She felt like she deserved Olivia. Olivia was her retribution. However, Olivia worked in her favor. When Fitz had Olivia, Mellie was free.

She stayed because Fitz owed her the Oval. Despite the disfunction, Fitz, Olivia and Mellie worked well together. Even though this was the honest truth, Olivia noted Mellie could never admit any of this. So they started drinking hooch together and got out all of their frustration. “You were a good mistress,” Mellie said. I’m dying. This conversation was epic.

“I was happy you were around, too,” Olivia said. “You were my out. You kept him unavailable. And so I left for the same reason you stayed. Because I was scared.”

That’s when it clicked with Olivia. Mellie needed to write that she was scared. But now she didn’t need Fitz or a man’s power to give her self-worth. Mellie had it the whole time. She just needed time to realize it. After an extensive rewrite, Olivia was determined to release the book NOW. So they leaked it to the press. It was a hit.

After realizing Fitz wasn’t really worth his time, Cyrus set his sights on a new knight. He told Fitz his cousin died, but he was really going to look at a Democratic candidate, played by Ricardo Chavira. And he was charming as hell. Cyrus really liked what he saw. Cyrus found his next Fitz.

Well, Fitz liked what he saw, too. Lillian could barely form words while trying to talk to Fitz and fully admitted she had a crush on him. Because Fitz is weak and needs attention, he asked Lillian on a date. This will NOT end well.

HollywoodLifers, what did you think of tonight’s Scandal? Let us know!

More Entertainment

There isn’t a person on this planet who doesn’t know the words to Foster the People’s ‘Pumped Up Kicks,’ and the band’s new album will have you bopping just as hard. Here, they share some wild fan stories from this tour!

War is coming, and it’s likely not going to end well. In this new trailer for ‘The Walking Dead’s eighth season, both Rick and Maggie are taking on co-leadership roles in which they desperately want to keep their side empowered and ready to fight.

‘Lethal Weapon’ returns for season 2 on Sept. 26! HollywoodLife.com got EXCLUSIVE scoop from Jordana Brewster about what’s next for Cahill, Riggs, and more. Get ready, the show is going to dig even more into Riggs’s past!

A scary situation unfolded at a Jhene Aiko concert when a fan had a seizure in the audience! Watch the horrifying moment here. Warning: this video features strobe lights and could be disturbing to some.

Girl code should never ever be broken, right? Wrong. While you’ve heard girl code is sacred, and it is, there are times you can — and SHOULD — feel free to break it. In fact, it may actually change your life for the better!

We talked EXCLUSIVELY with the actors playing Lyle and Erik Menendez in ‘Law & Order True Crime.’ Even though the brothers murdered their parents, the actors admit they do ‘sympathize’ with them after learning what they went through.